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Halloween ----蒋唯丹 01 08 Brief introduction【1】 Halloween (h?l?wēn, h?l-), Oct. 31, the eve of All Saints Day, observed with traditional games and customs. The word comes from medieval Englands All Hallows eve (Old Eng. hallow=saint). However, many of these customs predate Christianity, going back to Celtic practices associated with Nov. 1, which was Samhain (s?w?n), the beginning of winter and the Celtic new year. Witches and other evil spirits were believed to roam the earth on this evening, playing tricks on human beings to mark the season of diminishing sunlight. Bonfires were lit, offerings were made of dainty foods and sweets, an d people would disguise themselves as one of the roaming spirits, to avoid demonic persecution. Survivals of these early practices can be found in countries of Celtic influence today, such as the United States where children go from door to door in costumes demanding trick or treat. History【2】 Samhain was the principal feast day of the year; it was the New Years Day of a year that began on 1 November. Traditionally, bonfires were lit as part of the celebration. It was believed that the spirits of those who had died during the previous twelve months were granted access into the otherworld during Samhain. Thus, spirits were said to be traveling on that evening, as the Celtic day was counted from sundown to sundown. Halloween was brought to North America with Irish and British colonists, although it was not widely observed until the large influx of European immigrants in the nineteenth century, especially the Irish fleeing the potato famine in the 1840s and thereafter. In the United States, Halloween, celebrated on 31 October, was a time for parties and pranking. As a festival of autumn, the fruits, vegetables, and foods associated with it are those of the harvest. Games were and are still played with apples, and the primary symbol of Halloween is the jack-o-lantern, the great, carved pumpkin. Likew